We study the preparation and manipulation of states involving a small number of interacting particles. By controlling the splitting and fusing of potential wells, we show how to interconvert Mott-insulator-like and trapped BEC-like states. We also discuss the generation of "Schrödinger cat" states by splitting a microtrap and taking into practical consideration the asymmetry between the resulting wells. These schemes can be used to perform multiparticle interferometry with neutral atoms, where interference effects can be observed only when all the participating particles are measured.
The Fisher information $F$ gives a limit to the ultimate precision achievable in a phase estimation protocol. It has been shown recently that the Fisher information for a linear two-mode interferometer cannot exceed the number of particles if the input state is separable. As a direct consequence, with such input states the shot-noise limit is the ultimate limit of precision. In this work, we go a step further by deducing bounds on $F$ for several multiparticle entanglement classes. These bounds imply that genuine multiparticle entanglement is needed for reaching the highest sensitivities in qu…
A quantitative formulation of Bohr's complementarity principle and interferometric duality is discussed and applied to the neutral kaon system. Recent measurements by the CPLEAR Collaboration can be easily interpreted in terms of ``neutral kaon interferometry'' illustrating and confirming those basic principles of quantum mechanics.
Entangled many-body states are an essential resource for quantum computing and interferometry. Determining the type of entanglement present in a system usually requires access to an exponential number of parameters. We show that in the case of pure multi-particle quantum states, features of the global entanglement can already be extracted from local information alone. This is achieved by associating with any given class of entanglement an entanglement polytope---a geometric object which characterizes the single-particle states compatible with that class. Our results, applicable to systems of a…
We illustrate how geometric gauge forces and topological phase effects emerge in quantum systems without employing assumptions that rely on adiabaticity. We show how geometric magnetism may be harnessed to engineer novel quantum devices including a velocity sieve, a component in mass spectrometers, for neutral atoms or neutrons. We outline a possible experimental setup that demonstrates topological interferometry for neutral spin 1/2 systems.
Recent experiments demonstrate the production of many thousands of neutral atoms entangled in their spin degrees of freedom. We present a criterion for estimating the amount of entanglement based on a measurement of the global spin. It outperforms previous criteria and applies to a wide class of entangled states, including Dicke states. Experimentally, we produce a Dicke-like state using spin dynamics in a Bose-Einstein condensate. Our criterion proves that it contains at least genuine 28-particle entanglement. We infer a generalized squeezing parameter of -11.4(5) dB.
We propose a scheme for preparation of large-scale entangled $GHZ$ states and $W$ states with neutral Rydberg atoms. The scheme mainly depends on Rydberg antiblockade effect, i.e., as the Rydberg-Rydberg-interaction (RRI) strength and the detuning between the atom transition frequency and the classical laser frequency satisfies some certain conditions, the effective Rabi oscillation between the two ground states and the two excitation Rydberg states would be generated. The prominent advantage is that both two-multiparticle $GHZ$ states and two-multiparticle $W$ states can be fused in this mode…
Entanglement lies at the heart of quantum mechanics and in recent years has been identified as an essential resource for quantum information processing and computation. Creating highly entangled multi-particle states is therefore one of the most challenging goals of modern experimental quantum mechanics, touching fundamental questions as well as practical applications. Here we report on the experimental realization of controlled collisions between individual neighbouring neutral atoms trapped in the periodic potential of an optical lattice. These controlled interactions act as an array of quan…
We propose a new method to measure the absolute photon absorption cross section of neutral molecules in a molecular beam. It is independent of our knowledge of the particle beam density, nor does it rely on photo-induced fragmentation or ionization. The method is based on resolving the recoil resulting from photon absorption by means of near-field matter-wave interference, and it thus applies even to very dilute beams with low optical densities. Our discussion includes the possibility of internal state conversion as well as fluorescence. We assess the influence of various experimental uncertai…
In bipartite quantum systems, entanglement correlations between the parties exerts direct influence in the phenomenon of wave-particle duality. This effect has been quantitatively analyzed in the context of two qubits by M. Jakob and J. Bergou [Optics Communications 283(5) (2010) 827]. Employing a description of the $K$-meson propagation in free space where its weak decay states are included as a second party, we study here this effect in the kaon-antikaon oscillations. We show that a new quantitative "triality" relation holds, similar to the one considered by Jakob and Bergou. In our case, it…
Recent progress in generating entangled spin states of neutral atoms provides opportunities to advance quantum sensing technology. In particular, entanglement can enhance the performance of accelerometers and gravimeters based on light-pulse atom interferometry. We study the effects of error sources that may limit the sensitivity of such devices, including errors in the preparation of the initial entangled state, imperfections in the laser pulses, momentum spread of the initial atomic wave packet, measurement errors, spontaneous emission, and atom loss. We determine that, for each of these err…
We show how a chiral Dirac fermion (a massless electron or hole) can be converted into a pair of neutral chiral Majorana fermions (a particle equal to its own antiparticle). These two types of fermions exist on the metallic surface of a topological insulator, respectively, at a magnetic domain wall and at a magnet-superconductor interface. Interferometry of Majorana fermions is a key operation in topological quantum computation, but the detection is problematic since these particles have no charge. The Dirac-Majorana converter enables electrical detection of the interferometric signal.
The Dirac equation for massive free electrically neutral spin 1/2 particles in a gravitation field is considered. The secondary quantization procedure is applied to it and the Hilbert space of multiparticle quantum states is constructed.
We discuss the possibility to enhance the sensitivity of optical interferometric devices by increasing its open area using an external field gradient that act differently on the two arms of the interfer-ometers. The use of combined electric and magnetic field cancel non linear terms that dephases the interferometer. This is possible using well defined (typically with n $\sim$ 20 Rydberg) states, a magnetic field of few Tesla and an electric field gradient of $\sim$ 10V/cm 2. However this allows only for interaction times on the order of tens of $μ$s leading a reachable accuracy of only 1 or 2 …
We review different attempts to show the decoherence process in double-slit-like experiments both for charged particles (electrons) and neutral particles with permanent dipole moments. Interference is studied when electrons or atomic systems are coupled to classical or quantum electromagnetic fields. The interaction between the particles and time-dependent fields induces a time-varying Aharonov phase. Averaging over the phase generates a suppression of fringe visibility in the interference pattern. We show that, for suitable experimental conditions, the loss of contrast for dipoles can be almo…
We introduce a new direction in the field of atom optics, atom interferometry, and neutral-atom quantum information processing. It is based on the use of microfabricated optical elements. With these elements versatile and integrated atom optical devices can be created in a compact fashion. This approach opens the possibility to scale, parallelize, and miniaturize atom optics for new investigations in fundamental research and application. It will lead to new, compact sources of ultracold atoms, compact sensors based on matter wave interference and new approaches towards quantum computing with n…
Superposition is one of the most distinct features of quantum theory and has been demonstrated in numerous realizations of Young's classical double-slit interference experiment and its analogues. However, quantum entanglement - a significant coherent superposition in multiparticle systems - yields phenomena that are much richer and more interesting than anything that can be seen in a one-particle system. Among them, one important type of multi-particle experiments uses path-entangled number-states, which exhibit pure higher-order interference and allow novel applications in metrology and imagi…
We study a means of creating multiparticle entanglement of neutral atoms using pairwise controlled dipole-dipole interactions in a three dimensional optical lattice. For tightly trapped atoms the dipolar interaction energy can be much larger than the photon scattering rate, and substantial coherent evolution of the two-atom state can be achieved before decoherence occurs. Excitation of the dipoles can be made conditional on the atomic states, allowing for deterministic generation of entanglement. We derive selection rules and a figure-of-merit for the dipole-dipole interaction matrix elements,…
Elucidating similarities and differences between quantum-optics biphoton interference phenomena and the quantum physics of quasi-one-dimensional double-well optically-trapped ultracold neutral bosonic or fermionic atoms, we show that the analog of the optical biphoton joint-coincidence spectral correlations, studied with massless non-interacting biphotons emanating from EPR-Bell-Bohm single-occupancy sources, corresponds to a distinct contribution in the total second-order momentum correlations of the massive, interacting, and time-evolving ultracold atoms. This single-occupancy contribution c…
Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of more than 10 indistinguishable atoms
Leibniz Universität Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学）；Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR)（德国航空航天中心）；Instituto Nazionale di Ottica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (INO-CNR)（意大利国家光学研究所，国家研究委员会）；University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU（巴斯克大学）
